Schulhoff & Co. Inc. Sells 1,051 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Schulhoff & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,359 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.81 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).